1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a disc player, and more particularly to a multiple-disc player which is capable of storing a plurality of discs and playing back any desired succession of discs selected from the stored discs.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
One conventional multiple-disc player is known from Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 61-261853, for example. The known multiple-disc player has a playback means including a turntable, a clamper, a pickup, etc., a disc holder insertably mounted in a player housing for storing an array of successive discs perpendicular to the disc carrying surface of the turntable, and a disc pickup/transfer mechanism for selecting desired discs, one at a time, from the disc holder, transferring the disc onto the disc carrying surface of the turntable, and returning the disc from the disc carrying surface back into the disc holder.
For transferring a selected disc from the disc holder onto the turntable, the disc pickup/transfer mechanism moves the disc in two directions, i.e., a first direction parallel to the disc carrying surface of the turntable and a second direction normal to the first direction, i.e., the direction in which the discs are arrayed in the disc holder. More specifically, either one of the playback means and the disc holder is carried on a carriage which is reciprocally moved in the direction of the array of the discs by a driver means to move the disc in that direction. The disc is also moved in the direction parallel to the disc carrying surface of the turntable as follows:
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, the disc holder is composed of a housing 1 in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, and a plurality of flat trays 4 arrayed in the housing 1 in a direction (of the arrow Z and the direction opposite thereto) substantially normal to the disc carrying surface of the turntable, the trays 4 being rotatable about a support shaft 2 extending in the direction in which the trays 4 are arrayed. The trays 4 hold respectively discs 3 thereon in their major surfaces and are movable into and out of the housing 1 along their major surfaces. One of the discs 3 can be transferred in one direction (parallel to the disc carrying surface of the turntable) simply by taking the tray 4 holding that disc 3 out of the housing 1.
A pusher 6 is rotatably disposed laterally of the disc holder for engaging the trays 4 and pushing them out of the housing 1. A slider 7 is positioned near the disc holder for linear reciprocating movement. The slider 7 can be moved in an advancing direction by a certain driving force imparting means to enable a leading end 7a thereof to engage the pusher 6 for applying a moment to the pusher 6 thereby to turn the same.
More specifically, the overall playback means, together with the carriage carrying the playback means is reciprocably moved in the direction of the arrow Z and the direction opposite thereto for thereby relatively moving and positioning the trays 4 and the turntable in the direction in which the trays 4 are arrayed. The pusher 6 is turned to push one tray 4 out of the disc holder housing 1 for positioning the disc 3 in that tray on the turntable.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, two projecting pins 6a are mounted on the pusher 6 and slidably engage respectively in two arcuate guide slots 8a, 8b defined in the carriage (not shown) to guide the pusher 6 for its turning movement. As shown in FIG. 2, the trays 4 are rotatable about an axis (which is the central axis of the support shaft 2) which is in alignment with the axis about which the pusher 6 is rotatable.
In the case of a vibration resistent player, the playback means is mounted on the support member by means of a vibration-resistant mechanism for protecting the playback means, which includes precision components such as the turntable and the pickup, from external vibrations. When the multiple-disc player is shipped from a factory of the manufacturer, it may be subjected to relatively large shocks which are large enough to move the playback means, supported on the not so rigid vibration-resistant mechanism, into abrupt collision with the player housing causing severe damages.
On the other hand, the trays 4 are in the form of thin plates. Consequently, when the tray 4 holding a disc 3 to be played back is pushed out of the housing 1, the tray 4 tends to be bent or flexed in a direction normal to the disc carrying surface of the turntable. If the tray 4 projecting out of the housing 1 is bent too much, the tray 4 would contact the playback means thereby damaging the disc being played back.